


Betrayal Burns

by Lieutenant_Hawkaye



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist (Anime 2003), Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Betrayal, F/M, Flashbacks, Hostage Situations
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-04-07
Updated: 2015-10-19
Packaged: 2018-03-21 17:56:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3701363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lieutenant_Hawkaye/pseuds/Lieutenant_Hawkaye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Roy Mustang, better known as the Flame Alchemist, has finally got what he wanted and doesn't want anyone else to have it. Riza Hawkeye has a knack for knowing what's going through people's minds, but she thought wrong about the Colonel...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there!  
> Welcome to my first FMA multi-chapter fic, and I hope you enjoy. It is something a little different from what I usually write, so please tell me if you (don't) like it in the comments!  
> Thanks again :3

Chapter One

 

  "You _honestly_ thought I cared about you?" The dark man sneered in the bound-up woman's face, his obsidian eyes glinted maniacally. The blonde struggled in the ropes that were beginning to cut into her bare arms and that bound her to the chair she had woken up in. She spat on the man's immaculate military boots out of pure loathing for him and herself for being such a fool. 

  "You obviously didn't know me as well as you thought you did, did you?" He laughed, "The Hawk's Eye, eh? I think this hawk got blinded by _love_!" He laughed even harder at this 'joke' of his, the woman just narrowed her eyes at him, not giving him the satisfaction of a reaction.

  "You're fucking lucky I am tied up, _Roy_ , otherwise you'd be dead by now." The woman snarled, betrayal-ridden mahogany eyes boring into her superior's coal ones. She allowed herself a quick flick of her bangs and a small smile of triumph when she saw his emotionless gaze falter from surprise of her choice of words, he'd never heard his subordinate use such language.

  He shook his head slowly, regaining his composure, "Riza, Riza, Riza... No amount of 'fighting talk' is going to let you live any longer than I see fit, it was talk like that that got you into this mess to start with." He stroked her face with mocking affection. He let his fingers linger on the corner of her mouth, Riza snapped her head forward to bite him but he moved away just as fast. He smirked a satisfied smirk at the death stare she was giving him.

* * *

   "Master Mustang, could you please stop staring at me and do your work? I'll get father to come and tell you to if you don't." Riza said dryly. For a thirteen year old she was mature, without having a mother-figure for most of her life she had to learn to cook, clean and take care of the house and her father from a young age. She had the mind and heart of a woman who was at least double her age, so Roy felt as if he was sat with a housemaid not a girl three years younger than himself.

  "Yes, Miss Hawkeye!' The black haired boy replied haughtily, he dropped his head into his hands but allowed himself one last look at the blonde girl who sat opposite him peeling vegetables for dinner. He flashed a sideways smile to the girl before he got back to his strenuous reading, all joking aside he was genuinely a bit scared of his master. He was determined to become the next Flame Alchemist, meaning that he would do whatever it took to get the old alchemist's trust to gain his research on flame alchemy.

  "Riza!" The two children heard an old, smoke-damaged voice come from the kitchen door, "Hurry up girl, its nearly six o'clock and my apprentice and I are getting hungry from our long day of studies." Riza nodded slightly and averted her eyes away from the man and put the last few ingredients quickly into the dinner pot.

  "Yes father, it should be ready in the next half an hour or so..." She whispered in response, just loud enough for him to hear. Her eyes, Roy noticed, had dulled and filled with fear when her father entered the room, he wondered what he had done to her to make her feel this way toward him?

  Even though Master Hawkeye had left the room and stomped back upstairs to his study Riza still kept her head down, not daring to look up because she didn't want the apprentice boy to see how terrified she was of her own father. Luckily for Riza, her blonde, wing-like bangs covered the majority of her face when she was bent over, so she couldn't see the concern in the dark eyes of the boy opposite and he couldn't see her.

  They sat like this until dinner was ready, he read, she stared at the table and occasionally stirred the pot so its contents wouldn't burn to the inside of it. Even then she didn't speak or look up, she retrieved the bowls to put the food in and dished it out into them. She silently slid one over to the apprentice and she took the two other bowls out of the kitchen, Roy heard her soft steps go up the stairs. That was the last time he saw her on an evening because she dined with her father, he stayed downstairs on his own and after he'd eaten he went to clean the library. He didn't know what Riza did after her dinner so it was nearly impossible to guess where she'd be in the mansion that belonged to the alchemist, Berthold Hawkeye.

* * *

  "I remember the days when I actually did like you, I mean like a teenage boy who took a fancy to the quiet and mysterious pretty girl. But unfortunately for you, my ambitions outgrew that childish lust." By this point Roy had dragged a chair to face the one Riza was bound to, he was having too much fun watching her facial expression trying not to show a glimpse of emotion but failing miserably. Her face reminded him of the look of terror she had on every time she saw or heard her father, this made him snort out loud in amusement.

* * *

  He did love her, there was no denying it, but she dismissed it completely and somehow, this made him want her even more. He loved everything about her, her beautiful, shoulder-length blonde hair, her bright mahogany eyes and her smile... That would have been his favourite part of her if he was asked to pick just one. It was like a rainbow, it was a rarity, beautiful, and it had the capability to brighten up the darkest of days. 

  Unfortunately for him, Riza only saw him as a boy that her father had apprenticed, 'another one of those no-good apprentice boys' she referred to him as. She did think there was something different about this one, apart from the fact he managed to conjure a smile from her a lot more often than the rest ever did. 

  All the boys that came had the same goal, to become the next Flame Alchemist, but none ever ended up learning the alchemy. Either her father told them they were too 'stupid' to carry on or they voided their apprenticeship because they were scared of him, which Riza didn't blame them for. Roy on the other hand, was the smartest one that she could remember and he didn't let on that he was scared of Berthold, but Riza knew he was, even if it was just a little.

  Riza had spent much of her life learning from watching and copying others, so she had taught herself how to read people properly, to understand them. Since the only people she ever saw were her father and his apprentices, she had to make the most of their company, in a sense, it was her way of learning to socialize.

* * *

 "You mean, you did... Care?" Riza's strong front had completely dropped by this point. Roy's amused expression had morphed into a satisfied grin that could have given the Cheshire Cat a run for his money. He lazily placed his right ankle onto his left knee and sighed.

  "Remember that, _Elizabeth_ , the caring was in the past. Far, _far_ in the past."


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the length of the chapter, I went a bit crazy with detail, and thanks to everyone who read chapter one and gave it kudos!  
> There is some important information in this chapter that will make the ending make sense, so keep your eyes peeled!

Chapter Two

 

  Riza was speechless, completely dumbfounded by the fact she had been led on and betrayed by the only man she cared about, the only person she truly loved. The thing she didn't understand was how he had managed to deceive her as well as he did. She prided herself on her excellent judgement and her ability to read people like a book, but now she wasn't so sure of this talent.

  "Riza, don't blame yourself! Actually... do, it will make this whole thing a hell of a lot more interesting for me." It was as if the Colonel had read her mind, to be honest she wouldn't have been surprised if he could.

  She hung her head, not in shame but because she felt a dull throbbing beginning to beat behind her eyes. She tried not to wince as it became more forceful, however, Roy had noticed her pain and had began to quietly chuckle to himself. He sighed, rose to his feet whilst stretching and began to move purposely toward Riza. He stopped just a pace or so away from her chair so she couldn't lash out with her feet which were bound together but not to the chair. Roy hadn't had enough rope to tie each leg individually to it, nor did he have a pair of scissors handy.

  "Do you know what this is?" He asked in his 'normal' voice, the one Riza was used to in the office. Roy put his hand in his pocket, whipped out something and flung it right in her face. She flinched away slightly from the aggression of his movement, she opened her eyes again and was met by the sight of a small packet of white powder.

  At first, she thought it was some form of illegal drug, which may have been the source and explanation of Roy's complete mood change, but she noticed some black print on the plastic. The dark-haired man noticed that Riza had to squint to even try to read the label, so with a slight smirk he moved the bag right back up into her face. Ignoring him, she furrowed her eyebrows trying to work out what the words fitted together to say, and then she widened her eyes as if she had just realized something she should've worked out a while ago.

  "Gamma-hydroxybutyrate, eh Roy? 'Date-Rape Drugs' I do believe... That would make sense of my lack of memories from last night's 'date'. Also how I got out of that awful dress and into normal clothes. Oh, and not forgetting how I got home and tied up on one of my own dining room chairs!" Headache completely forgotten, Riza had a mad glint in her whisky eyes. She knew she was right and so did Roy, she hadn't lost her touch quite yet.

  "Very good Lieutenant! So I guess you don't remember admitting your undying love to me either?" It was Roy's turn again to look smug, it finally dawned on Riza why she had been greeted the way she had when she woke up a short while before.

* * *

 

  Riza felt like an idiot walking home from the office that evening. It wasn't just the fact the her cheeks were flushed from the invitation that the Colonel had given her that just before she left the , Headquarters, which she had bunched in her fist. It read;

  'Miss Riza Hawkeye, I am formally inviting you to formal dinner for two beside the river at 7pm tonight. Wear the clothes provided, a car will be at your apartment at 6:45pm.

  R.M'

  He was being unusually organized, she wished he put this much thought into his paperwork as well as he did his 'dates'.

  The other reason Riza wished she could crawl under the nearest hedge in shame was the fact she was holding a gift bag. Usually that wouldn't a problem, but since this gift bag was not exactly small, she couldn't just put it in her large brown satchel she took almost everywhere. Also it was a hideous shade of pink. Don't get me wrong, Riza was partial to a touch of pink here and there, but this was a shade too far in her opinion.

  She finally reached her apartment block, relieved, she let herself into the building and started walking down the corridor toward the stairwell that led up to the first floor. She slowly ascended the stairs, exhausted from chasing up the Colonel's errands he should've done himself hours before she had to do it for him. 

  Riza lifted her foot up the last step, she felt as if her military boots were suddenly made of lead and her bags were full of rocks. She slowly made her way along the corridor looking at the apartment numbers as she went, even though she knew which door was hers.

  'One-hundred and thirteen, one-hundred and fourteen, one-hundred and fifteen...'

  Riza stopped outside the next door, it was marked 'one-hundred and sixteen'. She rummaged through her brown leather satchel to find her keys to get Into her apartment, and her fingers found metal. She pulled keyset out of her bag, found the right key for her door and unlocked it with a dull click. With a sigh of relief she pushed the flimsy wooden door that separated her cosy sanctuary from the bitter world, she stepped over the threshold and shut the door softly behind her. 

  The brown satchel and obnoxiously pink gift bag she was carrying were quickly discarded when Riza heard claws clicking on the wooden planks that floored the whole apartment. Black Hayate came to meet his mistress and welcome her home from her hard day at the office, babysitting the Colonel. She fell to her knees and gave the Shiba Inu a well deserved fuss, she'd been out the apartment for the last ten hours and left him to guard it.

  Riza looked up from Hayate, who was on his back and wanted a tummy rub, and she looked at the clock that was hung on her wall. It read '5:15', she had an hour and a half to get ready. 

  After fussing Hayate for a little while, Riza picked herself off the floor and shrugged her navy military jacket off and put it on its peg next to the front door. She picked up her bags off the floor and took them into her bedroom, with the little black and white dog trotting closely behind.

  The bedroom door slammed in the poor dog's face, so he snorted and lay down just outside the room to guard it from possible intruders for his mistress. Riza on the other hand, had just collapsed on her bed out of exhaustion, she let her body feel the aches and pains from the day and she groaned.

  She sat herself up and reached down the side of her bed for the gift bag she dumped there and took the tape off that was keeping the bag sealed and safe from the elements. Riza opened it and rummaged around in the tissue paper that was the same offensive colour as the bag. Her fingers brushed fabric, her hand grasped the soft material and pulled it out carefully. She put the item on her knee and just sat and admired the colour, it was a deep red, like a rose, like the tattoos that defaced her back, or like the dried blood of her victims... 

  She shook her head, and moved the folded article off her lap so she could remove her heavy military boots easier. Riza kicked off her last boot and sighed, now she felt that the work day was over, she smiled. She stood up slowly, her face screwed up in pain from her aching feet, wincing she turned around to retrieve the dark fabric off her bed and she waved the material to unfold it. It tumbled toward the floor like a stream of red wine being poured from a height by a barman who was trying to show off to his customers.

  Riza gasped, the dress was even more beautiful now she could actually see it fully. It was an elegant and long evening dress, which meant she had the choice to wear comfy shoes under it if she wanted to and it had the capacity to hide a gun under if she felt it nessacary. It also had a full back meaning she wouldn't have to worry about people seeing the abnormality that was there and questioning her about it continuously during the evening. The only issue with it, in her opinion, was that it was a little low-cut around the chest for her liking but she wasn't too bothered about it.

  Riza decided that it would be best if she got ready pretty soon otherwise she'd leave it until the last possible moment, not unlike when she used her sniper to take a life. 

  Riza hung the dress over her arm and found the small black cardigan she only wore on special occasions, she had only worn it a couple of times before. She walked over to her en suite so she could get changed where she felt safest.

  She slipped the dress over her head with ease, she was pleasantly surprised that the Colonel had managed to get it in the right size without any guidelines. She pulled the fabric so it fell gracefully from her curves and all of the creases smoothed out. Riza walked cautiously over to the mirror, so she didn't trip over the hem of the dress which was swishing across the floor as she moved.

  She decided that she would close her eyes just as she approached the mirror so she could see herself in the dress for the first time when she had reached the mirror. Her outstretched arms in front of her, Riza made tentative steps in the general direction of the mirror. Finally, her fingers brushed a cold surface, her eyes snapped open from surprise and gasped at her reflection.

  Standing in the bathroom parallel to Riza's was a woman of average height with her arms outstretched and a genuinely shocked expression on her face. The woman's arms lowered to her sides which were covered by a well-fitted burgundy evening gown, that flattered each and every one of her curves. The dress tickled the floor with its hem, as the woman turned her torso so she could see her back, the skirt also moved and lifted slightly off the floor, as if it was floating.

  She adjusted the thick straps so they sat on her shoulders comfortably, she also attempted to pull the neck of the dress upwards so less of her chest would be shown, but to no success. She frowned slightly at this but the overall look of her in the dress quickly brought a full smile to her face.

  She knew she looked beautiful, the colour of the dress complimented her shining whisky brown eyes and her bright blonde hair, which was still in her work bun. Her slim, yet slightly muscular, frame was enhanced by the material and unlike most of the dresses she had worn, it didn't restrict her movement.

  The woman seemed to have had an idea, her hands moved slowly up, toward the back of her head. A small click came from where her hands were and her blonde hair began to tumble out of its clip and down her back. She ruffled her waistlength hair to get some of the tangles out of it, she nodded. She was ready.

  Riza had never felt this beautiful in her life, people had always told her she was 'a natural beauty' and she hadn't believed them, until now. She smiled again, eyes sparkling from pure happiness and confidence in her appearance. She moved back into the bedroom to finish off getting ready.

  Riza felt reckless, she hitched up her dress and went over to her wardrobe and stuck her arm right into the back of it. She felt around and picked up a pair of shoes. They were black, and very impractical with a three inch heel. These were the only 'fancy' shoes the simple and practical Lieutenant owned, and they were beginning to gather dust, Riza prayed they would still fit her.

  She threw the heels onto her bed, she made her way across the room and sat on the end of it next to the shoes. She picked one of them up by its straps and studied it carefully. We meet again, she thought and bent over to fasten it to her foot, it was a bit tight but nothing she couldn't cope with. She put the other one on and stood up carefully, trying not to topple over. Riza had forgotten how hard it was to walk in heels, the only upside to wearing them, other than to complete her outfit, was that the heels could be used as weapons if she found herself in a spot of trouble.

  She turned around to retrieve the discarded bright pink gift bag that the dress was in and she attempted to crumple it in her hands but something in the bag was stopping her. Puzzled, Riza opened it and tipped out the contents onto the floor. She heard a soft thud and she knelt down, moving the tissue paper from where the sound came from. She saw a dark brown, nearly black, strap, she picked it up and allowed herself a small laugh, that man had thought of everything.

  It was a leather holster she could fasten around her thigh so she could discretely hide a gun under her dress. Riza fumbled around with the skirt of the gown so she could put the holster on. She closed the buckle on the strap, and dropped the dress back into place. All she needed now was a gun to go into it.

  Riza sat back on the bed and took the heels off. She thought she might as well give her feet some time without any shoes before she had to put them into the most restricting shoes she owned. After wiggling her toes for a second to get some feeling back into them, she stood and walked over to where she kept her holster she wore to the office. She opened the pouch where her handgun was and removed it. She fumbled around with the skirt again and put the gun in her new holster, she was prepared for the night ahead. All she had to do now was wait for 6:45 to roll around.

  And it did, soon enough. She had been busying herself with chores around the house, they were made quite difficult by the fact she was wearing a floor length dress. She was pulling her heels back on just as she heard a sharp rapping on her front door.

  "Coming!" She shouted to the person waiting to take her to Roy. It may have even been Roy, that thought made her speed up a little.

  She ran unsteadily to the door and answered it breathlessly, "Hello? Hello, I'm ready!" She was caught slightly off guard by who was on the other side of the door, she grinned.

  "Jean Havoc, fancy seeing you here." The blond man smirked in response to this, and held his arm out for Riza to hold.

  "Fancy seeing you in a dress... And heels! Riza Hawkeye, you have really out done yourself for the Colonel this evening!" Riza blushed a little and ignored the arm Jean offered her and started walking down the corridor, obviously unused to walking in the shoes she was wearing. She heard her front door shut, she'd forgotten to shut it from the embarrassment from the compliment her teammate gave her, and running steps followed.

  Riza found the stairs a challenge to climb down, at this point she wished she took Jean's arm when he offered it, but it was her decision not to so she had to deal with the consequences. Relieved, she reached the bottom of the stairwell and walked outside of the building, Havoc followed a few feet behind her.

  She paused, trying to work out which car Jean had come in, then she spotted Roy's black car.

  "Yes, he lent me his car. Its not like I can't afford my own I just choose to spend my money on stress relievers!" And as he finished speaking he pulled one of his 'stress relievers' out of its packet and lit it.

  "You better put that out before we get in the car, I don't want to smell like cigarette smoke during our..." Riza faltered and Jean laughed.

  "Yeah, yeah, fair enough." He quickly sucked on the cigarette butt a few more times before stubbing it out on the bottom of his shoe. He started making his way toward Roy's car, he beckoned for Riza to follow him, she hitched her skirt up and started to walk behind him.

  Jean opened the front passenger door for Riza to get in, which she managed not too gracefully, it must be said. The blond chauffeur shut the door on the woman and ran around the front of the car to the driver's side and jumped in.

  As he pulled out into the road and sped off into the winding roads of East City, Jean said, "Your prince awaits!" Riza narrowed her eyes at him, but then laughed at how uncomfortable Jean looked.

  "So, who gave you my address, may I ask?" Jean looked slightly less unnerved now Riza was talking to him, and not giving him a look which said 'I will stab you with these shoes'.

  "Mustang, of course! No one else in the military actually knows your address, minus the Senior Management Team and the Colonel." Jean seemed proud of himself because he knew knowledge that barely anyone else knew.

  "Good to know its still that much of a secret... Also, Havoc, that doesn't mean you and Roy can come to my apartment at ungodly hours in the morning, black-out drunk and expecting a bed. I won't hesitate to shoot the pair of you on the spot." Riza said coldly, Jean knew better than to assume she was joking, because she wasn't.

  "Anyway, we're here." Jean said churpily, still with a hint of uncertainty in his voice. Riza nodded her thanks to him as he came to let her out of the car. She managed to successfully unfold herself out of the vehicle without falling out onto the pavement, she brushed herself down and stood up straight. 

  "Someone made an extra special effort tonight, didn't they, Lieutenant?" Riza's eyes sparkled, that voice, she spun around and her suspicions were confirmed. Roy Mustang stood in front of a small restaurant in a suit, with the shirt buttoned all the way up, Riza was pleased to see. The thing that made her smile the most was that he hasn't slicked his hair back in that stupid way he does, it made him look really formal and unRoy-like. "Hello, Sir. I wasn't the only one who made an effort, I can see. And thank you Havoc for the ride." She flashed the blond chauffeur a smile, her cheeks slightly flushed from the cold, she had forgotten her cardigan.

  "No problem, Hawkeye! what do you want me to do with your car, Sir?" Jean turned his attention to Roy, blue eyes gazing into charcoal black ones, that seemed to be planning something.

  Roy snapped out of thought and replied, "Oh! Just leave it where it is, thanks Havoc. See you tomorrow in the office." Jean nodded, saluted the pair and began to walk down the street.

  "We'd better get inside, its cold out here and your only wearing a dress." Roy stuck his elbow out to Riza, taking her by surprise but she took it gladly and the couple walked into the restaurant. They walked up to podium which had a 'Please wait to be seated' sign on it, and did what the sign said.

  "Hello, I am your waiter for this evening, Yoki. But not for long, I will be in charge of this establishment soon and will wring it completely dry of all its money!" The Colonel and Lieutenant jumped out of their skins at the man's silent approach. The moustachioed man laughed very loudly at his plan, or was it at their surprise..?

  "Unfortunately, your table isn't ready quite yet. Would you care to visit our bar and I will call you when your table is ready." Roy nodded, and he followed the waiter to the bar with Riza in tow.

  As they reached the bar, Yoki wandered off to take care of something else, and left the two of them to their own devices. Riza motioned to Roy that she was going to go to the bathroom, he understood and she walked toward the door that was clearly labeled 'Ladies'.

  She came out of the toilets to see that Roy had already got them drinks, alcoholic ones at that. Riza rolled her eyes, he knew she didn't drink, so why did he always insist on buying her drinks she won't drink?

  Roy saw Riza's non too happy expression and said, "Please, just the one? Its only a Martini and lemonade, promise." His smile melted her heart, how could she refuse him that? She sipped at the beverage, the salt around the edge of the glass mingling with the taste of the alcohol, she smiled. Maybe she could drink just the one, for him.

* * *

 

  "It all makes sense now... But still, when did I confess my 'undying love' for you?" Riza whispered half to the dark haired and half to herself, Roy smirked at the mixture of confusion and realization on his captive's face.

  "You are being really slow today Lieutenant. It appears the alcohol and drugs haven't worn off fully yet." He laughed at this, she narrowed her eyes and huffed at his cockiness. 

  "Well, let me tell you a little something about alcohol..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You made it, well done! So yeah, Riza was drugged, who knew! And I did do some research for the story, consider yourselves lucky, I barely ever do that!


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for such a long wait guys but my brain decoded to have writer's block for a while. Better late than never though, eh?  
> Enjoy!

Chapter Three

 

  "I am fully aware of how it works, thank you very much." Riza growled at her captor, he nodded slightly in acknowledgement.

  Roy replied, "You are a highly intelligent woman, so how didn't you notice the drugs in your drink?" He leant back in his chair and put his hands behind his head as he watched Riza's face as it tried to remain expressionless, to his utmost amusement.

  "Well, to be honest, I didn't think that the man I loved would try and kidnap me on our date." She spat at him, trying not to cry out of anger from her naivety.

* * *

 

  Finally, Riza had left to go to the bathroom, now was his chance.

  "Can I have two Martinis with lemonade, please?" Roy smiled cheerily at the bartender, he reached into his jacket pocket and produced a small white envelope. The bartender looked at it with confusion as he put the drinks on the bar, the envelope was about an inch thick.

  Roy leant toward the tender and said, in a whispered snarl, "Say anything to anyone about what I am about to do and I will send you and this establishment under, got it?" The man behind the bar mouthed a very shocked "yes".

  With two fingers Roy pushed the envelope across the counter toward the man, "Here, there is 5000 Cenz in this envelope to guarantee your silence, I do hope it is sufficient." The man nodded and tucked the envelope into his waistcoat. 

  Roy smiled, he opened his suit jacket and produced a small clear packet, which had a white substance in it, from a pocket in the lining. The bartender watched the Colonel out the corner of his eye as he served another customer. He ripped the top off the packet and poured its powdered contents into one of the Martini glasses. He stirred it briskly, the powder quickly disappeared, as if it was never there and winked at the horrified barman.

  "She'll be back in a minute so wipe that expression off your face, or I can burn it off for you, if you'd prefer?" Roy pulled one of his ignition gloves out his trouser pocket to show he was being serious. The barman gulped and turned away as fast as he could, which was quite slow since he took up most of the space being the counter.

  Roy glanced behind him to see if Riza had come out of the restroom yet, she hadn't. However, as he shoved the white glove back into his pocket he heard footsteps come toward him, he knew the sound of Riza trying to walk in heels quite well, it was a sound you would never forget.

  She approached the bar and her face fell when she saw the alcohol. Shit. Roy had forgotten that Riza barely ever drank in his haste to find a way to conceal the drugs. He smiled at her and he noticed that her face seemed to loosen up a bit, so he decided to reassure her, to make sure his plan would run smoothly. And since he knew she was infatuated by him, he knew she would always do as he asked sooner or later.

  "Please, just the one? It's only a Martini and lemonade, I promise." She gave in to him at this point and took a sip from the salt crusted glass. Roy prayed that the salt on the edge of the glass would hide the subtle taste of the powder in her drink. She smiled. He had done it, she hadn't noticed. He smiled back, but for a different reason. 

* * *

 

  "You are smarter then you look, aren't you? Eh, Colonel?" Roy let out a short over exaggerated laugh at this remark.

  "Back to using honorifics are we now, Lieutenant? Anyway, be quiet, I am about to answer the question you have been asking for the past ten minutes." Roy got comfortable as Riza became more uncomfortably interested.

* * *

 

  Roy had forgotten how quickly Riza got drunk, after two and a half Martinis she was basically there. They hadn't even been seated yet, Yoki was seeming to take his time. Roy pulled his jacket sleeve up to check the time on his watch; it read, 8:07pm. Roy sighed, they were at least meant to be eating by now, his plan was going all wrong.

  Roy sighed again, more audibly this time to make sure Riza heard him, and she did. She turned her head to face him and cocked it to one side in concern. He thought her jumbled drunk mind was probably trying to work out what was wrong with him.

  "W-what's wrong, Roy? I mean Colonel, I mean..." He was shocked by how slurred her voice sounded. He smiled to stop her looking like that at him, it was making him feel uncomfortable. The smile worked, her face relaxed and she smiled sloppily back. When she was content that nothing was wrong she turned back toward the bar and finished off her drink.

  Roy had a plan."Hey, Riza," She replied with a 'hm' and Roy carried on, "How about we go back home? Grab something to eat on the way, what do you think?" His nervously drummed his fingers on the counter whilst he waited for her response.

  "Yeah, that sounds good, Roy." Riza put down her empty glass and nodded to reinforce her answer to him. He nodded in return and stood up.

  "Alright then, your carriage awaits!" She giggled at this in the most unRiza-like fashion. Allowing himself a small chuckle, Roy stuck his elbow out for Riza to take, she wobbled to her feet and did so. 

  Whilst they were making their way out of the restaurant Riza tripped and fell over far too many times for Roy to count, so it was a relief when they reached the stained glass front doors. Roy heard a voice behind them just as he was about to push the handle to open the door.

  "Excuse me, Sir?" A familiar voice reached his ears, Yoki, the waiter from before. Roy turned slowly around with Riza still clinging onto his arm for her life, or so it seemed.

  "Your table is ready now, if you'd like to follow me, please." Roy snorted in amusement.

  "It's a bit late for that now, isn't it?" Riza looked up at Roy as he gave the waiter a cold dark stare. Yoki gulped with unease and hurried away to clear a table. 

  Roy smiled at the confused woman at his side and opened the doors that lead out of the restaurant. As they walked out the building the pair could hear Yoki complaining about 'officers thinking that they could do what they like, when they like.' And that 'he'd show them who was really in charge around here.' Riza giggled drunkenly again, a little less controllably this time, as Roy guided her toward his car.

  Still with Riza in arm, Roy opened the front passenger door and helped her in, which was quite a difficult task. On the way in she hit her head on the top of the car and shouted a slurred obscenity that surprised Roy. On the next attempt she managed to get in, still rubbing her head and whispering some very foul language under her breath. 'She is completely different when she is drunk, I'm not sure if I like it.' Roy thought to himself, he shook his head, He couldn't be having these thoughts now. He walked around to his side of the car and managed to get in a whole load easier than Riza had done and turned on the engine. Just as he was about to put his foot on the acceleration, he felt Riza's head fall quite heavily onto his shoulder. He looked down confused at her. Her face smiling at him, staring at him in awe.

  "Riza, what's up?" He asked cautiously. Her finger flew up to his face and she attempted to put it against his lips but she missed. Roy rubbed his nose where she had hit him and allowed her to try put it on his mouth, a lot more gently this time.

  Her eyebrows knitted together, her sparkling brown eyes studied his face intently, making him feel supremely uncomfortable.

  "We've known each other for nearly fifteen years now, I think..." Her face seemed to try to work it out before you went any further, she nodded when she knew she was correct. She carried on her drunken ramble. "And we have always been with each other, joined by the hip, some have said. But ever since the day I met you I knew you were something special, not just another of father's apprentices." Roy had no idea where all of this was coming from, he knew Riza wasn't one for sappiness. His heart started beating ten to the dozen, he had no idea what was going on. He started blushing, he hoped she couldn't hear his heartbeat. 'Oh no. This cannot be happening. Not now. This is the last thing I need.' 

  He could hear the thudding of his heart in his ears, so he barely heard what she said next. "And through those years I've spent with you I realized why you were so special. You are my soulmate, Roy, and I love you." Roy was completely dumbfounded, how did he reply to that? 

  "Riza, I..." Her finger slipped from his face and she shook her head. "Don't worry Roy, I already know you feel the same."

  He exhaled slowly, relieved that he didn't have to say anything to her outburst. "You read me like a book! There's no fooling you, eh Hawkeye?" He laughed, she chuckled too and buried her head into his shoulder. He stroked her head until she fell asleep. Face still burning, he put the acceleration on and sped off into the night.

* * *

 

  "So you do love me? And they say women are complicated." Riza snorted, causing Roy to humph out of distaste. 

  "Well, I didn't decide to change clothes and do chores at 9pm. But yes, I agree, we can be just as complicated as you." He said this as if he was a child, trying to one up his friend in a game of 'I'm better than you'.

  Riza's face flooded with understanding, "That would explain my change of clothes and why my apartment is so clean!" She laughed "I probably thought you'd be staying the night, but not in the way you did." She smirked and winked, making Roy uncomfortable, to her pleasure.

  Riza's eyebrows furrowed for a moment, "There is one thing I don't quite understand though. How did you manage to tie me to a chair without me pulling a gun on you." Now it was Roy's turn to be smug.

 "You remember the drugs? Well they can make you quite drowsy on top of the alcohol so when you fell asleep on the sofa, not even a bomb would've woken you." He gave her a sideways glance after that jibe. Riza felt her heart jump at the mention of a 'bomb', he was referring to when they were in Ishval and she would wake, shaking, at every explosion.

  "That's not funny, Roy." Her face had gone red, she was trying to keep herself calm. She twisted in her ropes, she could feel the scratching fibres against her skin, she focused on that to keep her mind off his low blow.

  Riza lowered her head, not wanting to look up at his sneering face, she lowered her voice, "What happened to you Roy?" 


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

 

"What happened to the Colonel and Lieutenant Hawkeye last night?" Kain Fuery inquired to the blond man leaning against Roy's desk looking out the window. He chewed on the unlit cigarette in his mouth intently, as if he was in deep thought.

"Well. I have two theories." Jean Havoc swung around to face the other men in the office and held up his index and middle fingers. "One. They got drunk and were too hungover to face work. Or theory two is that they may be a little sore from their 'after-date activities'." He smirked, the men in the room tried not to burst into laughter.

The huge double doors that guarded the office opened revealing a slightly flustered Warant Officer, Vato Falman. He scanned the room confused, and watched with horror as his teammates exploded into unexplainable hysterics. He dropped the large stack of paperwork he was carrying and walked straight back out of the room.

"Sh-should we ring their apartments to check on them?" Even in the madness Kain Fuery managed to keep a level head. In the true style of their absent superior, Jean replied to the Sergeant with a wave of his hand and a strained "Later".

* * *

 

"Nothing happened to me, per se, but what happened to your father helped to put me on my way to what I am determined to become." Roy smiled knowingly, Riza was taken aback. Surely he wasn't talking about her father's death?

"Yes, your father's unfortunate passing away gave me what I needed to motivate myself." He said this quite wistfully, unlike the vocal pattern he had been using earlier. Riza was unsure if he had read her facial expression or it was a coincidence he had said that.

"What do you mean? How did the death of your Master, my father, motivate you?" She was slightly scared of what his answer could be.

"You are aware I was there on the night of his death?" Riza nodded slowly, mildly concerned where this was going. "Well he told me something that night. He told me where to find his research."

* * *

 

A young Roy Mustang stood in the dimly lit bedroom of his Master, Berthold Hawkeye. His royal blue military uniform the only splash of colour in lifeless room. From his bed, Hawkeye could just about make out his apprentice standing awkwardly at the door. Even with his wavering eyesight he couldn't mistake the dress of a military dog.

"So, you've decided to become a soldier after all? That's all the proof I need, you're not ready to learn Flame Alchemy." The old alchemist sneered disapprovingly at the young man. Roy's black eyes clouded with shock and confusion.

"But, Sir..." He paused for a second so he could steady his voice. "I am, it's the only thing I have left. I mean, haven't I already mastered the fundamentals of Alchemy?" He was doing his best to hide his annoyance with the old alchemist because he had got this far, why couldn't he go all the way?

"Of course you have, and I regret even teaching you that much now I know who you plan on using it for. His voice was beginning to falter, and he began coughing, the sound reverberating around the tiny room. Roy tried to ignore the obvious deep red patches that had appeared on the white sheets Berthold was leaning on.

"But alchemy should be used for the people, shouldn't it?" The soldier had become uncertain, he knew Hawkeye was on his deathbed but he needed that Flame Alchemy to achieve his goal. Berthold didn't reply, he just pursed his lips, so Roy carried on trying to win over his Master.

"Master." He went for another tactic, "Our country is constantly under threat from all sides. The military needs alchemists as a matter of defending our homes. We don't have the time..." He was interrupted by Berthold angrily coughing and countering him.

"I'm tired of hearing that vile excuse." He genuinely sounded as if he meant it too, his pale blue eyes pointedly fixed on Roy's military uniform. By this point he was somewhat unphased by the Flame Alchemist. However, his face acquired a reserved, saddened expression, this was his final stab in the dark.

"I can't stand to see you like this. There is no reason for a man of your status to suffer in this squalor." Roy motioned to the run-down state the Hawkeye Mansion had gotten into after Berthold had become immobilized and bedridden from his illness. He carried on before the alchemist could complain.

"If you'd just simply join the military you could get grants for your research." It was also a slight hint for him to get someone to come and repair the mansion with some of the money.

"I don't need grants for something I've already completed." A weak smirk spread across the old man's lips, and Roy was pleasantly surprised. At least he wouldn't have to do any work to it when he got his hands on the alchemy. He still forced his face into a shocked expression so he didn't give himself away.

"You've already completed your research?" Roy exclaimed, Berthold was buying his fake confusion. The smirk on his face had enlarged, and his eyes sparkled dully, like a candle trying to burn bright even though the wick was nearly too short.

"I've created the most powerful alchemy. It would only cause tragedy if put in the wrong hands. Now that I've finished it I've allowed myself to become complacent. We alchemists are hungry creatures, we must continue the hunt for knowledge as long as we live. If we forgo pursuing the truth then we allow ourselves to die. Trust me, I've been dead for a long time." His voice broke. His eyes opened wide, unnaturally wide in Roy's opinion, and he fell to the floor.

It happened as if in slow motion, Berthold gripped his chest as his heart palpitated under it. He spat up blood each time he coughed on his way down to the cold planks.

"Master!" Roy exclaimed and sank to his knees just in time to catch the alchemist's head. "Are you alright? Master Hawkeye! He laid him down, blood still trickling from his mouth, real concern spreading across Roy's face. Hawkeye's eyelids were flickering, he was having trouble remaining conscious, the young soldier shook him. He couldn't die now, Roy didn't have what he was after. The Flame Alchemist started mumbling senselessly, Roy leant closer to hear what he was saying.

"Look after my daughter..." He focused on his laboured breathing for a minute. "She is in possession of my research." This time his breathing became shaky and bearly noticeable. His eyes flashed open wide once more before he said, barely a whisper, "Look after her."

It was as if Berthold Hawkeye's eyes were drained of colour the moment before he closed them for good. Even the vibrant red of his blood seemed to fade into the sombre scheme of the bedroom somehow. Roy fell completely to the floor in front of his former master, black eyes glazed over in numb grievance.

He had done it. The secret of Flame Alchemy was within his reach, he just had to win over Hawkeye's daughter.

* * *

 

"You took advantage of my father's death to get what you wanted? You didn't help him, you make me sick." Her voice squeaked at the end of the word 'sick'. Tiny droplets of water began to form at the corners of Riza's eyes. Roy tutted and shook his head.

"Riza, Riza, Riza. It's not like you actually liked the man, as your father, as anything. Even I could see that." His voice was silk falling from his mouth. The Lieutenant gritted her teeth as if the tear that streaked down her face was burning her skin from the betrayal she felt.

Roy rose suddenly, and made a show of stretching each of his limbs. He strided over the short distance between his chair and Riza's, pulling on his ignition glove as he moved. He stopped abruptly a step or two in front of the chair, so he wouldn't get kicked. The Colonel dropped to his haunches, looking Riza dead in the eye, and smirked.

She saw his gloved hand raise so it was just below her eye line. Her whiskey eyes squeezed shut on instinct and she waited for the inevitable snap of his fingers. But it didn't come.

Riza felt something brush her cheek, she flinched away from the unexpected contact. From the static she felt dancing on the area that was stroked Riza assumed it was Roy's finger and he had used his gloved hand.

She opened one of her watery eyes to confirm her suspicions. She was right. There he was holding his gloved hand upto his own face inspecting something on his index finger. But the look on his face was unsettling. Roy's expression had changed from a look of spiteful joy to a reserved sadness. Was this the same look he had given Berthold before he died? Riza wondered.

"Don't cry, Riza." He spoke in a quiet monotone, Roy's black eyes looked up from his glove to look at his hostage. They had dulled somehow, from a bright obsidian to graphite, within milliseconds. He twisted his hand around so that Riza could see the tear on his finger that he must've picked up when he brushed her cheek.

"Well, not yet anyway. Save your tears for later, Lieutenant, you will need them to put out the fire." He blinked and his face retained its slightly psychotic expression Riza had grown used to. He licked the moisture off his finger and a conceited smile lay to rest on his lips.

* * *

 

AN: The flashback used in this chapter you may recognise as the first scene in episode 30 in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Disclaimer: I don't own the dialogue used in this chapter's flashback that came straight from the dubbed anime, it belongs to FUNimation, Bones and ANIPLEX.


	5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

 

  The man was sick, he made Riza feel sick, right to her stomach. He was completely lost to his power hunger and she could see no way of bringing back her Roy. The 'old Roy' as she now referred to the man she used to love, had gone forever, chewed apart by his Lust.

  However, she did as he advised and tried to stop crying. Since she couldn't squeeze the bridge of her nose to stop the flow of tears because she was tied up she had to come up with other methods. Riza settled with squeezing her eyes shut and holding her breath for a few seconds. It worked but she still couldn't wipe away the tear streaks on her face, so she furiously stared down Roy to regain herself some dignity.

  All he did was laugh softly to himself, he couldn't take her seriously anymore. She was pathetic enough when she was drunk and slurring her words and affections toward him last night. It was even worse when she started bad mouthing and sassing him earlier this morning, especially since it did nothing in her favour. But now, now she had started crying because he had told her the cold, hard truth and she didn't like it? How pitiful.

  At least now she was trying to regain whatever pride she had lost in the last twelve hours, but her puffy eyes and wet cheeks weren't doing her any favours. He turned his back so it faced Riza and walked back to his chair, waiting for her to initiate the dull conversation again. All he was doing was toying with her, giving her the false sense of security, making her believe he wasn't going to do anything to actually harm her. He would let his Lieutenant believe this is a mistake or a dream, and then he will strike. Then the hawk will fall from the sky.

  Roy's train of thought was broken by a faint snuffling coming from the bedroom. "Shit." He mumbled to himself, "I thought I'd killed him." Riza's attention was now also drawn to the sound coming from her room. It was becoming increasingly louder, and then a dog's yawn could be heard.

  A minute or so later, faint clicks could be made out through the door and the door handle began to lower. The door opened slightly and began to slowly open with a long, low creak. The clicking footsteps - pawsteps - were becoming closer and louder as the door was being pushed open.

  Black Hayate nuzzled the door open a couple more inches so he could fit through the gap between it and its frame. He limped a few metres into the room and stopped, a front leg obviously broken. He blinked a few times trying to adjust to the light in the apartment's main room.

  "Hayate..." Riza's eyes started filling up again. She had imagined the worst had happened to him, he was safe, seriously injured but safe.

  Roy rolled his eyes, "Dont start blubbering again, I don't think my small heart could take the guilt." Sarcasm dripping from his lips, Riza ignored him and encouraged Hayate to come to her.

  Step by painful step, Hayate made his way toward his mistress, his panting seemingly exaggerated. His agony and disfigured leg completely forgotten as he reached his mistress. He stood on his hind legs and leant his good leg on the ropes that covered Riza's arm, scratching at them in a feeble attempt to free her. He whined in desperation, as if he understood what was going on, Riza smiled at his loyalty to her.

  Roy snickered, which caught Hayate's attention instantly. He lowered himself onto the floor, and yelped from the pain that shot through his broken leg when he put weight back onto it.

  The Shiba Inu didn't let the pain bother him for long as soon as he set his eyes on Roy. Hayate fell silent and a low, quiet rumbling began. The dog's ears flattened onto the back of his head, small black eyes trained on the Colonel. The rumbling became a snarl, Hayate's teeth were beared by this point and his tummy was nearly touching the floor, ready to pounce.

  Even though they were expected, Hayate's barks erupted from his tiny body and shook the pair of soldiers immensely. The barks, growls and snarls bounced off the walls of the apartment, creating a cacophony of angered sounds that drilled into the Lieutenant and Colonel's ears. Saliva hung from Hayate's mouth as it snapped open and closed, depending on the sound his vocal cords were making.

  Dog and mistress watched as Roy reached into his coat pocket, and heard a quiet click follow. Riza recognised it as a safety on a handheld pistol being released. Her eyes widened in realisation of what he was about to do.

  "Hayate, NO!" Riza practically screamed as the Shiba Inu pounced at Roy, claws extended and mouth wide open ready to attack the man who was holding his mistress hostage. Roy pulled his hand out of his pocket and a glint of metal followed, with complete concentration he aimed. Hayate howled as he reached the Colonel, but a louder sound ensued.

  Hayate whelped at an agonising pitch as the force of the close range shot flung him across the room and smashed him against the wall behind Riza. Glass-eyed and silent, Hayate slid down the wall leaving a blood smear as he fell. 

  Riza swung around in her chair to see the damage Roy had caused. As she twisted around the chair toppled over and she hit her head on the floor. She winced but never took her eyes off her beloved Hayate. He was facing his mistress, his black eyes glazed over but not completely dead, which gave Riza hope.

  "Hang in there, boy." Riza said softly, not wanting to alarm the dog or Roy. "Hayate, momma loves you, stay with me." Roy snorted disbelievingly, Riza flashed him a dagger-filled glare. She returned her gaze to the Shiba Inu, he was trying to keep his eyes open, not wanting to give into the dark.

  Riza's eyes filled with moisture, and she let the tears flow this time. Hayate whined at her, as if to say, "Don't cry." He attempted to stand, his legs shaking weakly as he put his weight on them. He began to move unsteadily toward Riza, to comfort her, blood was dripping steadily from the wound in his chest.

  "Hayate, stay." Riza ordered him, he was doing damage to himself, and she couldn't bear to see it. "Black Hayate, do as you're told!" Her voice wobbled, he still kept coming forward, ignoring his mistress' orders.

  Hayate reached Riza eventually and started his quiet whine again, nuzzling at her cheeks where her tears were. She didn't seem to mind that he was stood on her hair, getting it tangled in his claws. He started to lick her face gently, as if she was the one in pain and not him.

 "Die already!" Roy's roar erupted from the other side of the room and was followed by one more round of gunfire. 

  This time Hayate skidded across the room and lay to rest at the base of the wall behind Riza. She tilted her head to see where he had been hit, she bit her lip to stop herself from screaming out in anguish. Hayate hadn't moved, but Riza could see the wound in the side of his head, blood had matted his fur to his head.

  As soon as the realisation of what Roy had done had dawned on Riza she turned her head to face him, fury burning in her amber eyes.

  "You..." Her voice wavered, she took a second to regain control. "You monster! How could you? You said you love dogs. Are you listening to me Colonel Roy Mustang?!" She was on the verge of shouting by this point. She was shaking from anger, pure rage was surging through Riza's body.

  She had managed to get Roy's attention, and she could hear his military boots slowly coming toward her, a shiver of fear ran through her spine, but she didn't care. Riza lifted her head enough to spit on his boots when he got close enough, but he didn't react.

  He knelt down in front of her, Riza could just make out Roy's face from her position. She also caught a glimpse of his hand with the gun raised above her head, just before it came in contact with her temple.

  "Don't worry, Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye, you will be seeing him again soon." Is all she heard as her head connected with the floor and darkness flooded her vision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, not sorry


	6. Chapter Six

Chapter Six

  


  A groan escaped Riza's lips, but it didn't get much further than that. She felt a plastic cuboid in her mouth and a rag wrapped around her head keeping it in place. There was a dull throbbing from the bottom-left of her gums, she could also taste a faintly metallic liquid. 

  Confused, Riza moved her tongue under the object in her mouth and sort out the source of the pain she was feeling and the liquid she could taste. As her tongue touched the gum where a tooth was obviously missing, a sharp pang of pain radiated from it.

  Riza tried to move herself from the hard wooden surface she was lying on to remove whatever was in her mouth, to sooth the pain. However her limbs were attached, with ropes, to the legs of a table, she assumed.

  She finally opened her eyes and looked up to find she was in fact face down on top of her dining room table, and also naked from the waist up. It took her eyes a while to adjust to the light that was flooding through the window in front of her. After they had accustomed, she noticed a figure sat in a chair on the edge of her field of vision.

  "Ah, finally you're awake! To be honest I thought you'd wake up when I was taking this beauty out of your mouth." Roy's voiced had leveled off completely from the psychotic tone it had taken up before Riza had been knocked out. She rested her chin on the table and only moved her eyes to look at him, her eyes widened as they locked onto the thing he was holding in his hand.

  "It was on its way out after you hit your head on the floor from falling on it, and then it was knocked again when I knocked you out. So, in actual fact it wasn't too difficult to get it out and now it's a keepsake for me to remember you by." This man - no, monster - has no limits, does he? Riza thought. He had killed her dog without a second thought and now he was being... Reminiscent? And he had achieved this by yanking out one of her teeth?

  The thing in his hand was a similar packet to the one which held the drugs he gave her last night. That felt like an age ago. As Riza had expected, the cellophane bag had one of her lower canines enclosed inside it.

  "You know, I haven't seen this much of you since that time after Ishval." Riza's gaze had wandered from Roy by this time, so when she felt fingers tracing the outlines of the slightly raised scars on her back, she flinched. She knew exactly what he meant.

  "And the best part is that we get to reenact that moment again, but instead of little scars on your back to only conceal parts of your father's research, I get to destroy it completely!" He sounded far too happy about that fact, and Riza couldn't shake the feeling that he didn't only intend to destroy the research, but her as well.

  She needed to distract him for a second so she could compose herself, ready herself for the inevitable. Riza began to try and speak through the gag and attempted to push the plastic object out of her mouth. Roy saw what she was trying to do and removed it for her, already slightly amused for what she was going to say.

  She got straight to the point. "I have two questions. First question, what time is it?" This took Roy off guard, he had thought that she was going to scream or start shouting at him.

  He regained himself and replied. "It's just past noon."

* * *

  "Havoc, its midday, and neither the Lieutenant or Colonel have rang in to explain their situation." Sergeant Kain Fuery remarked in the Second Lieutenant's direction. Jean Havoc looked up from his work and sighed.

  "Would you like to ring them then, Fuery? Try both of their apartments, just to be sure." Jea looked at the Sergeant, he nodded and moved over to Riza's desk and removed the phone from its hook and began to dial the Colonel's residence. He let the phone ring for the full 25 seconds and hung up quickly just as Roy's voicemail message began to play.

  "Well, they aren't at Mustang's apartment, and he still hasn't changed that awful voicemail." He gave Jean and Breda a withering look as they began to mock Roy's voicemail 'rap'. Falman was just sat on the corner of the large desk the four of them shared laughing at the pair of idiots impersonating their superior.

  "Right then. I will try Hawkeye's telephone." Fuery said out loud, but it was mainly to himself. He put the receiver to his ear and waited patiently for someone to pick up at the other end. However, as he dialed her number the line went dead. Confused, he tried again but again he got the same result.

  "Hey," Kain tried to get the attention of his teammates. "Havoc, Breda, Falman! Hawkeye's line has been cut." The three men looked at the Sergeant, bewildered, Jean began scratching his head and attempted to come up with a solution.

  "Well, I could pop around their apartments and check up on them." Havoc made eye contact with Kain to see if his proposal was good enough, Fuery nodded. "But first, gentlemen, let's get some food!" Everyone cheered and followed Breda down to the cafeteria.

* * *

  "And your second question?" Roy was now knelt on the floor in front of Riza, his face less than a foot away from hers.

  Riza took a minute before replying, she knew that the rest of the team will be wondering where they are by now and had probably tried to get hold of them. She moved her head slightly to the left to have a look at her telephone, the line was cut. Fuery would figure that out fast enough since he knew everything to know about radios and phones. And then, someone would come to see what the problem was and Roy would be busted.

  She smiled wanly, as if that would happen. No, she was going to be found incinerated and Roy would be no where to be seen. He had this all figured out.

  "Okay, my second question; are you going to kill me?" Riza turned her attention back to Roy and looked him, now he was the one smiling.

  "Riza, you didn't seriously think I was going to let you live after I have done something that could strip me of my Colonelship. I'm not an idiot." She was right, she was going to die here, at the hands of the man she used to adore.

  After his reply, Roy replaced the plastic cuboid, which Riza recognised as a bullet box, in her mouth and secured it with the gag. She didn't resist, she didn't see the point. Riza knew her end was here, so why struggle? 

 "Do you want to know something interesting, Riza?" Roy asked as he removed his hands from the knot of the gag at the back of her head. He looked her straight in the eye, but her eyes were lifeless and defeated, he carried on regardless.

  "Well, that box you've got to bite down on when I start contained the bullets I used on poor little Hayate." He searched for a reaction from Riza, but none occurred. "And the gun I used? It was yours, so effectively, you killed your own dog!" Roy was sure she would react to that, but she didn't. It was as if she was dead already.

  "Anyway, I think it's time we started, don't you?" Roy picked himself off the floor and slipped his ignition glove over his right hand. "Just a prewarning, this may sting a little."

* * *

  


  "Riza are you sure you want to go through with this? It's not too late to change your mind." Roy Mustang pulled on his brand new Flame Alchemy ignition glove. He only said that to make Riza feel more safe and secure in his hands.

  "I am sure, I don't want there to be any more Flame Alchemists, one's bad enough." Riza's voice came from the small room next to the room Roy was stood in. He agreed, there only needs to be one, and he was going to make sure that there will be no more.

  "Okay, I'm coming now." Riza walked into the room slowly, protective arms covering her chest, amber eyes trained on the floor. She walked right past Roy and stopped a few steps ahead of him with her back facing him.

  "Are you ready?" Roy asked, aching to get started, aching to be the only one in possession of this Alchemy. Riza nodded, obviously petrified of what was about to happen.

  "Roy, remember I only want you to burn a little bit of it." He sighed through his nose, he had forgotten she didn't want it completely destroyed. That means people could still decode the rest of the research and learn how to use it, but Roy would destroy it completely before anyone could do that. So for just today he would do as Riza wishes.

* * *

  


  "Ready, Hawkeye?" The Flame Alchemist was stood parallel to Riza's bare back, hardly containing his excitement for finally being able to do what he had wanted to do for over seven years.

  This time he could go as far as he wanted and no one could stop him, Riza's screams will be the music he had been waiting for. And her death would mean he would be able to get away with this unscathed and his title would still be intact.

* * *

  


  It was now or never, Roy clicked his fingers and a small concentrated flame sprung from them. He aimed it so the fire would hit a spot just below Riza's right shoulder. It jumped from his fingers at his command, and it struck the tattoo. He could see her back tense under the pain of the high-heat flame that had connected with her skin.

  When the tiny fire had disappeared a raised red lump began to form where Riza had been burnt. Any tattoo that was there was now gone, not enough for Roy's liking, but it would have to do.

  "H-how's it going? Has it gone?" Riza's shaky voice enquired, it sounded as if she was on the verge of tears. As she spoke her body shook, Roy thought she was going to pass out.

  "Take it easy," He put his hand on her unburnt shoulder to reassure her. "The tattoo's disappeared where I've burnt your skin, it looks like it will scar though." Riza nodded.

  "Do one more, but on my other side, please?" She turned to face Roy, her whiskey eyes had a watery appearance to them, but she wasn't crying. Roy smiled, she turned back around and sucked in a deep breath. Riza gave him a quick thumbs up and readied herself for round two.

* * *

  


  Roy arched his arm and snapped his fingers dramatically. Fire leapt from his glove onto Riza's naked back, enveloping it in orange. A muffled cry of pain escaped Riza as her back arced in agony. 

  Roy paused for a second to admire his handiwork, the first flame had barely marked the skin. The bright red tattoos were still visible against Riza's slightly pink skin. They won't be like that for much longer, Roy thought.

 "That was only a taste of what's to come, Riza." Roy sounded as if he was proud of himself. Riza twisted around to face him, she winced as the muscles on her back moved. However, her eyes still contained enough pent up anger and fury to kill with one look, and she hoped that was possible. 

  "You may want to turn your head back to the window, I don't want to damage that pretty face of yours." She refused his command until he had snapped his fingers for the second time, she realised he wasn't going to lay off because she didn't cooperate, he would carry on either way.

* * *

  


  Riza knew what to expect this time, she just gritted her teeth and tried to focus on the photo in front of her. It was a portrait of a young girl holding hands with a beautiful woman and a handsome, yet slightly shabby, man. 

  The child was Riza when she was about six or seven, and the photograph was taken about half a year before her mother, the woman in the picture, had died from the epidemic of that winter. It was also the last picture Riza had of both of her parents before her mother's death. After that Berthold locked himself away in his study working toward his goal, Flame Alchemy.

  "There, all done." Roy said softly, he was pleased with his work, but he was still itching to do more. Riza wandered over to the mirror in the room and proceeded to take a look at her sore back. She smiled, she was now free from her father's Alchemy and she allowed herself a few tears.

  "Thank you, Roy. You've set me free." Riza walked upto Roy and kissed him gently on the cheek, she blushed and quickly ran out of the room.

* * *

  


  This time the pain was worse, a lot worse. She could feel the heat sear through her skin as the flames came in contact with it. The whole of her back ached and stung from the heat. But she knew this wasn't going to be the worst of it.

  She regained her breath for a moment, why wasn't he carrying on? Maybe he had finished, well at least she could hope.

  "Are you ready, Riza, for the finale? Well even if you're not, I certainly am!" Roy laughed as he began snapping his fingers maniacally, flames roaring from them continuously without a sign of rest. Riza screamed, and she kept screaming as the flesh on her back began to melt and bubble and burn from the fire licking unforgivingly at it.

  The pain was hardly bearable, she gripped the table legs with her hands, her nails digging deep into the wood. 

  She gave up screaming as some of the nerves in her back were fried so it went numb. Just as she stopped screaming she realised how weary she was from it and the agonising pain she just went through. 

  Darkness began to swim in and out of Riza's vision. She didn't resist it as she was dragged further in, she just wanted to be free of this world and the horrors it held. Riza let her eyes roll into the back of her and her head fall on the table with a thud. But not before she heard gunfire.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Roy's voicemail is 'The Roy Mustang Rap' from The Four Koma Theater FMA:B series, if anyone was wondering.


	7. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

 

  Jean Havoc parked his car outside of the apartment block Riza Hawkeye lived in. He grumbled to himself as he entered the building and began the long ascent up the many flights of stairs to Riza's apartment.

  The reason Jean had been sent was because he was the only one who was in possession of the Lieutenant's address details. Which also meant that his lunch break was cut short by Fuery worrying about their teammates. The Sergeant was going to have a few words thrown in his direction if the Colonel and Lieutenant were fine, he would make sure of it.

  The Second Lieutenant finally reached the floor he needed. His legs were already aching from the climb but now, if he remembered correctly, he had just over half a corridor to walk. He groaned, this was bad enough the first time, plus this time he was hungry.

  Jean scrutinized each door's number as he walked past them, making sure he didn't walk past Riza's by mistake. It was a pain in the ass since every door was virtually identical as the one before it, so he had to stay close to the doors to work out what the number was. This meant that Jean nearly walked into residents of the apartments as the exited their homes multiple times.

  Finally, he reached the door with the number '116' stuck to it. Jean lingered for a minute before knocking, he could hear muffled sounds coming from inside. Jean knocked and waited a few minutes for a response, none came. 

  Puzzled, Jean tried again, knocking louder this time. He put his ear to the door to see if he could make out what the muffled noises were. He moved away from the door quickly when he realised that the noises where agonising screams. How had none of the neighbours noticed? He wondered. 

  "I'm coming in!" Jean shouted, letting whoever was in there know he was on his way.

  Jean aimed his handgun at the door's lock, and fired. He had no time to check if it was locked. He needed to get to the person, hopefully it wasn't either of his colleagues who was in obvious pain, as fast as he could. 

  He put all his weight onto shoulder and rammed into the door, forcing it open. The pressure making him fall through it as it splintered off its hinges. Jean half-ran half-fell through Riza's hallway and froze on the spot as he saw Roy.

  A pungent smell of burning flesh and blood reached Jean's nose, he gagged and he put his hand to his face in an attempt to block the stench. He didn't dare make a noise or he may end up like the person on the table. 

  Still unnoticed, Jean pressed his back against the wall and dropped to his haunches. He remembered he still had his gun in his hand so he brought it level with the Colonel's thighs and steadied his hand. 

  "Sorry, Chief." Jean whispered as the bullet flew through the air and ripped through the back of Roy's right leg. Almost instantly the flames ceased and he crumpled to the floor, swearing colourfully at the top of his voice. He stole a look over his shoulder to see where the bullet come from but he didn't have chance to do anything about it.

  As soon as the bullet had punctured his superior's thigh Jean had darted all the way into the room, briefly seeing Roy lying on his side. He didn't want to give the alchemist a chance to hurt anyone else so he pointed his index and middle fingers on his left hand and rushed forward.

  At the moment Jean was about to strike his neck, Roy snapped his head around to face him but it was too late. Unknowingly, he had made Jean's job easier. With a quick and powerful blow to his throat, Roy felt his pharynx cave and he began to find it difficult to breathe, then he blacked out.

  Jean quickly checked that he was still breathing, it was hard to judge whether that move would kill or just knock out. Luckily for him it only knocked him out, with maybe some windpipe damage.

  He stood up shakily and walked toward the table, allowing his nose to guide him while he had his eyes squeezed shut. When he approached the table his outstretched arms brushed against wood. His eyes snapped open, he breathed in sharply.  

  The smell was so much worse here, Jean attempted to pull his uniform's collar over his nose, unsuccessfully. He looked at the body, but not for very long, it was a sickening sight. Black, red and white swirled together to create the charred mess of a back belonging to the person lying on the equally damaged table.

  His attention was drawn to a flash of blonde at the top end of the body. He walked toward the head of the person, examining the slightly burnt and blooded hair. That looks familiar, he thought. He bent down in front of the person's head and realised she was female. With a side fringe that he recognised, from the office.

  "Shit, no it can't be." Jean didn't want to believe that it was her. Tentatively he grasped her face and lifted it so he could get a better look at it. 

  No, don't let it be her.

  He knew it was Riza but he didn't want to believe it. Just to make sure it was her he opened one of her eyes, praying it was any colour but Hawkeye's whisky. And of course it was.

  Jean sank to the floor, fighting back fits of tears. Why her? The Colonel loved her, he wouldn't ever shut up about her, which had pissed Jean off but it was better than this. What did she do to deserve this? Refuse him something? Do something wrong? Whatever it was, this was despicable how ever you looked at it.

  Picking himself up off the floor, he decided he needed to get some help. He slowly walked toward the door to find a working telephone since Roy probably was the one who broke Hawkeye's.

  There was a person waiting outside of the door, peeking around the frame, fearful of what was inside of the apartment. So it was a surprise when a man whom he had never seen before walked out, looking like he was slightly drunk.

  Gripping onto the door frame as if it was the only thing between him staying upright or falling to the floor, Jean smiled at the older man. "Any chance I could use your telephone?" The man nodded, bewildered and shuffled into the apartment next to Riza's.

  A few moments later he returned and Jean was able to stand by himself, the man beckoned for him to follow. Jean walked into the hall and the man thrust the phone into his hands. Before he could thank him, the man had scuttled into another room.

  Jean made a call to the hospital for a pair of ambulances and the police for a few officers to escort Roy Mustang in his. "For his own protection" Jean had told them. He replaced the phone and went back to Riza's apartment.

  Now all he could was wait.

* * *

 

  The sedatives she had been pumped full of were slowly wearing off. Riza was becoming more aware of her surroundings, like the regular beeps of a heart monitor and the low murmuring voices of the doctors and nurses. Also that she was laying on her side.

  Then she began noticing an unpleasant throb all over her back, right from her neck to her thighs. The pain forced her to let out a groan of discomfort and agony. She felt a hand on her shoulder, and she stiffened. Her heart rate quickened.

  Was it him?

  Riza opened her heavily sedated eyes, and she smiled as best as she could when she realised the man gently squeezing her shoulder wasn't the one she had dreaded. 

  "Second Lieutenant..." Her voice was crackly and dry, from the smoke she guessed. She pointed at the bedside table where she had noticed a cup of water stood. She winced slightly from the pain of her tired muscles and damaged skin moving.

  "You gave us all in the office a near heart attack, you know?" Jean smiled, it was obvious that he had been crying at some point, Riza noticed as he put the straw between her lips.

  "Don't drink too much, or too fast, Hawkeye. Blame the doctor, not me." He added as she began sucking on the straw, she gave him a murderous look, but she obeyed. She pulled away and looked him dead in the eye, Jean noticed but waited until she spoke.

  "How did I get here, Havoc?" Riza asked, he throat still hurting but she could speak better. Jean sat back into his chair, which was a foot or two from the bed, making sure his face was still in her line of vision.

  "Well, I came to check up on you and chief because you hadn't turned up to work and Fuery found out the line had been cut to your telephone. Then I walked in on Roy..." He gulped, "Burning you. I shot him, and call-"

  "You, you shot him?" Riza interrupted him, fear present in her eyes. The whisky colour in her eyes began to turn watery. Jean nodded, Riza buried her face into her pillow, her shoulders began to shake.

  "Hawkeye, he's not dead." How could she still care about him after this? Jean put his hand on her arm again, to comfort her. The trembling subsided and she faced him again, searching his face. After she was satisfied he wasn't lying, she breathed in raggedly.

  "Mr Havoc? We need to run some tests on Miss Hawkeye now that she is awake, could you leave amd come back tomorrow?" A young nurse popped her head around the door and motioned for Jean to leave. He smiled at Riza one more time and released her shoulder.

  He began to walk away but a hand grabbed his arm, he swung around to see Riza tearing up again. "Thank you." She mouthed and let go of his arm. She wiped her eyes and smiled at him as he left.


	8. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

 

 "Miss Hawkeye, are you awake yet?" Riza heard a gravelly voice call. Her eyes fluttered open to the sight of Doctor Knox leaning on the door frame which lead to her room with his hand on his hip.

 Wiping sleep from her eyes with her free hand, the other was still trapped underneath her. She replied, “I am." The doctor proceeded into the room and over to the chair Jean Havoc had occupied the previous day. He sat down; his clipboard on his knee, one hand tapping a pen against it and the other grasping his chin.

 “Today I want to discuss the surgery you will need to repair the damage that _monster_ did to you.” The doctor looked down as if he was ashamed of Roy, which he probably was, especially since they were war buddies in the Ishvalan Extermination. Riza nodded awkwardly to let the man know that he could carry on because he had paused in his speech, but he wasn’t even looking in her direction and he carried on regardless.

 “Okay, I have booked you in to have a skin graft in the next week or so, it may take weeks, or even months for you to recover properly. This will mean you won’t be able to work for a while unfortunately for you, because I can see a promotion coming your way.” His coal black eyes looking straight at Riza, a hint of a smile played across his face. Riza smiled back at him from her much lower lying position in the hospital bed.

 She knew that he meant that there was a free Lieutenant Colonel place, possibly even a Colonel one if she was lucky, and there was no one to head the former Team Mustang. It might mean that Havoc may finally get the Lieutenant title he has always been hoping for, Riza mused.

 “How does a doctor, such as yourself, know of such sensitive military information, eh?” Riza teased him, the doctor only replied by tapping the side of his nose with his pen and winking at her.

 They carried on the pre-operation examination for a little over half an hour, then Knox left Riza to herself until lunch. By this time Riza was exhausted, it might as well have been midnight, due to the way she felt. She gave in and let herself drift away until one of the nurses woke her for her lunch. Then Havoc or someone else from the Team would visit her until they were kicked out and then it was time for her to eat again. This was how how the next week before her graft and a few days after panned out.

* * *

 

 “Hey, Al, do you think Mustang is going to kill us since we took a little detour back here?” Edward directed this question to a suit of armour that had stopped walking and stood next to him at the gate of Central Command.

 “I don’t think so, Brother, but who knows really. I think we should get in there and get it over with.” The armour replied to the short blond. He scratched its helmet as if it was his head.

 Edward shrugged and pushed open the iron gates that lead into the courtyard of the Command. The brothers slowly walked across the paved yard toward the entrance of the grand building. As they reached the bottom of the steps that went directly to the front door Edward sighed heavily and started to ascend them, Al tinnily following.

 He reached the top of the stairs and stopped in front of the huge oak door, and mumbled, “Back to hell.” then pushed the door open, with a little help from Al. They wandered into the expansive corridor of the building and began in the direction of Mustang and his team’s office.

 Echoing running footsteps could be heard behind them. Instinctively, Edward stopped dead in his tracks and turned to face the runner. He relaxed when he realised it was Sergeant Fuery carrying a coffee cup and waving frantically at the boys.

 “Hello boys, what brings you to Central?” Kain Fuery asked between laboured breaths from his sprint.

 “The usual. A pompous speech from the Colonel about how I should be taking my role as a State Alchemist more seriously or about the fact we usually take a bit longer to do missions than his lazy ass.” Edward said dryly to emphasise how much he hated these visits. Fuery snorted out of amusement and  nodded, but kept his eyes on the floor, the trio kept quiet for the rest of the walk to the office.

 They reached the office shortly and the Sergeant opened the door for the brothers to go in first. Edward was the first to notice the lack of Colonel Mustang and Lieutenant Hawkeye, he frowned and looked in Havoc, Breda, Fuery and Falman’s direction

 “How’s it going, Chief? And Al?” The Second Lieutenant grinned and stood up from his desk to welcome them. They all exchanged handshakes and small talk, however Havoc noticed that Edward was distracted by the two empty desks that backed up to the windows.

 Jean took a deep breath, then said, “You may want to sit down before I tell you anything.” Confused, they obeyed and sat on the sofa that stood between the two sets of desks, Jean lowered himself down next to Edward.

 “You should know that both Hawkeye and the Boss are in the hospital, and I’d like to say it was for nothing too major…” Jean raked his hand through his hair and dove into the story from the last week.

 Alphonse was the first to speak. “So. He tried to kill her? He never seemed like the type of man who could do such a thing.” He played with the horse hair that protruded from the top of his helmet as if it was his own. Edward nodded and wrung his hands a few times, thinking of what to say.

 “Damn him. _Damn the bastard.”_ Edward spat, his shoulders shook and he stood up sharply. He began pacing the office, four men and a suit of armour watching him carefully as he muttered and walked.

 The blond boy halted his pacing and turned to face Alphonse and the Second Lieutenant, his eyes hard and determined. “ I need to see her, I need to see Hawkeye.” He stated. No one argued with him, they just murmured agreements.

 “Maybe wait a day or so, Chief, she is having her skin graft today so it may be better if you went when she was feeling better.” Edward thought for a second and accepted this suggestion, he relaxed slightly, satisfied with the plan.

 “Yeah, okay, Havoc. I think we’ll go home now and thank you for this.” Edward smiled, Al stood up next to his older brother and bowed to Havoc and the three other men. They all shook hands again and Falman out of the office and saw them out of Central Command.

* * *

 

 There was a light knock on Riza’s door in the early hours of one of the mornings after her operation, she was still unable to sleep due to the pain all across her back, the painkillers weren’t kicking in properly. The doctors or nurses would never check on her at this time, unless they had figured out she wasn’t sleeping?

 She shut her eyes as she saw the light from the opening door appear on the wall she was facing, the nurses tended to lie her this way to reduce the pain she felt along her left side and shoulder. Riza tried to make herself seem like she was sleeping as convincingly as possible when the person entered the room.

 Her eyebrows furrowed slightly, the walking pattern she could hear wasn’t like any the nurses or doctors made, it was very one-sided. As if the person had a limp. Also every so often she could hear the squeak of wheels, which she could only guess was a IV line stand.

 Riza took a stab in the dark and assumed it was another patient who had wandered into her room by mistake, she relaxed. Then she realised the person hadn’t stopped coming toward her bed, but instead had began walking around it to the side which she was facing. Surely they would know it’s not their room by now?

 As the limping person moved around the end of her bed, painfully slowly due to their leg injury, Riza supposed, she picked up on the person’s breathing. It was extremely laboured and rasping, still she kept lying as if she was dead to the world.

 The wheels’ squeaking became ever louder and more irritating as they drew nearer, so it became harder for Riza to stay ‘asleep’. She had had just about enough and was going to ask the person _‘What the hell do you think you are doing?’_ when the footsteps and the squeaking ceased. Ceased right in front of where her face was.

 A pained groan was exuded by the person as they lowered themselves onto the floor. Non too gracefully, Riza guessed from the thud they created. Riza now lay rigid so as not to alert the intruder she was aware of their presence.

 Riza’s ears began picking up murmurings from the person kneeling - presumably - before her. They sounded raspy, like the person had a awfully sore throat. At first they were pretty indistinguishable, however, as her ears adjusted to the soft whispers she began making out words.

 “Riza, this is your fault…”

 “If you had stayed quiet it wouldn’t have had to end like this…”

 “I’m going to send you to the place you belong…”

 “Prepare to die.”

 This last statement was said with such vigour Riza’s eyes snapped open and her fears were confirmed. It was him.

 “Oh good, I had hoped you’d wake up to watch your own demise. It wouldn’t have been as fun otherwise.” Roy smirked his all too familiar smirk and placed his hand gently on Riza’s face.

 As she felt his hand connect with her cheek Riza’s body froze from fear alone. She couldn’t move very well at the best of times, even with the morphine, she could barely sit up without excruciating pain from the grafted areas. More importantly, _what did he mean?_

 “I affect you that much already? I did my job well, and it will make this part a lot easier if you can’t fight back.” _So he had noticed._ The man may well be pure evil but he wasn’t stupid, far from it in fact. He knew exactly what he was doing and how to go about doing it, so he had a plan, Riza was sure of it. She just wasn’t sure what it was.

 Sure enough she was right. Roy removed his hand from her face and produced a brown drug bottle from somewhere inside his hospital pyjamas and a syringe. He uncapped the bottle and proceeded to dip the needle of the syringe into the liquid, it was expertly done, Riza noted warily.

 When he had filled the syringe he put the body of it in between his teeth and put his hand over her catheter. Then she felt the absence of the liquid dripping into her vein, she opened her eyes wide in panic. Roy had removed the IV line from her catheter and let it fall to the floor as he retrieved the syringe from his mouth.

 “I know that probably wasn’t the most hygienic thing to do but it’s not like I’m a doctor, now is it?” He laughed at this quietly, the action made him begin coughing and he grasped his throat in pain. _Is that what Havoc did to him?_

 Riza knew it wasn’t the time to worry about the man who was going to try and kill her, but she still couldn’t bring herself to hate him completely since he was the only man she has ever loved. There was still part of her that hoped this was some horrible, twisted nightmare, but she knew all too well it wasn’t.

 She began to feel the worse of the pain seeping back into her body, she hadn’t realised how much she had depended on those drugs. Roy was watching her closely, luckily her panicked body wasn’t in the state to give him a satisfying reaction.

 “God knows what painkillers you’re on now but they should react well with this morphine, making your death all the more interesting for me.” Then he put the syringe into her catheter. Riza felt the icy cold liquid rush into her body, her hand spasmed in reaction to the change in temperature. Roy smiled at this and began filling up the syringe again.

 “I heard that a large amount of morphine at once could be fatal to a human, and I am curious if that is true.” Riza was still paralysed with fear, and Roy injected another syringe full of the narcotic into her bloodstream.

 The effects came almost instantly, she began feeling numb and slightly faint from the large amount of drugs she was receiving in a short amount of time. She knew where this was going, she was going to be drugged to death because she couldn’t do anything about it. Roy was knelt right in front of her and her body was too weak and numb to even try to lash out at him.

 Or was it?

_Concentrate, Riza, you can do this. Just make a noise loud enough for someone to come running. Or hit him in the throat, make him suffer._

 Riza closed her eyes and focused on all of her pent up anger and upset caused by the man trying to kill her and took a deep breath. As deep as she could manage, she was beginning to have issues breathing from the overdose being forced upon her.

  _Come on, woman, focus. You’ll be dead soon otherwise._

 She tried again, weaker still this time, she sucked in as much oxygen as her lungs would let her and,

 everything went black.

 


	9. Chapter Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “It was her back, wasn’t it, Mustang? He said quietly, still not looking at Roy afraid of what his expression may be. Smugness? Amusement? Maes didn’t want to know.

Chapter Nine

 Maes Hughes was beginning to become exasperated with the sedated man lying before him. The doctor had told him Roy should wake up any time round about now, but he wasn’t stirring at all.

 The Head of Investigations leaned back in his chair and breathed in heavily, he needed to get to the bottom of this madness as fast as he could. Maes couldn’t bear it, he was going to have to interrogate his best friend as if he was nothing more than a common criminal, which he technically was.

 He just stared at his watch to keep himself busy. Tick, tick. No sign of movement from the man. Tick, tick. Maes heard the knocked out man take in a shuddering breath to signal his awakening. All he had to do was wait for Roy to become aware of his surroundings then he can get this over and done with and let the courts deal with him from there.

 By this point Roy was awake and grumbling about the light in his eyes, Maes scoffed. He has no room to complain. He sat up and rubbed his eyes with his hand. Then he looked straight at the man sat opposite him, and sneered in his direction.

 “Hello, Hughes. It took them this long to get you and your men on this case? Pathetic.” Roy jibed Maes’ way, he narrowed his eyes at the hospitalised attempted murderer. He noticed the bed-ridden man was rubbing the back of his head painfully, well that explains a lot,good old Knox.

 “With all due respect, Mustang, which isn’t a lot by this point, you are in the hospital. We had to let you recuperate a little after what your subordinate did to you. We also had to give Miss Hawkeye some time to come to terms with what you did to her. But we may have to give her a little more after this morning” Roy thought this over and nodded. He leaned back in the bed again and stared at Maes, waiting for the questioning.

 “Let’s start off easy, eh, Colonel? Why did you want to kill your fiancee?” Maes knew that would touch something inside of Roy, especially since no one inside the military was meant to know of that arrangement. And of course he was right, Roy raised his eyebrow questioningly.

 “Easy, Maes? That’s not what I’d define as easy but then again I don’t think I am in the place to complain.”

 “No, Roy, you are not. Just answer the damned question.” Maes snapped back at him. I think pulling my own teeth out would be easier than this seems like it’s going to be.

 “Okay, fine. I don’t know if you were aware but Riza’s father was the Flame Alchemist before I was.” Maes nodded, how could he be the Head of Investigations and not know that?

 Roy continued. “And you must be aware that he was my mentor when I was a boy.” Again, Maes nodded. “However, he wouldn’t teach me Flame Alchemy because I had joined the military. Then he died.”

 “You didn’t kill him, did you, Mustang?” Maes cut in swiftly after that statement. To his surprise, Roy laughed.

 “Hughes, is that really what you think of me now? That I try to kill everyone who gets in my way? No, the man died of disease, why would I kill the man that would lead me to the secret I needed?” Roy was looking directly at the Lieutenant Colonel now, all Hughes did was adjust his glasses position on his nose and gestured for him to carry on.

 “Luckily he did tell me where his research notes were, even if it was indirectly.” Roy paused, and looked away from Maes for a second.

 “Where were these notes then, Colonel?” Maes tapped his fingers on the edge of his seat waiting for the response. He prompted Roy again. “Colonel, where were they?” Roy snorted, obviously amused at something.

 “Hughes, I thought you said you were the Head of Investigations, surely you of all people should have figured it out by now.” Roy pointed behind his shoulder, indicating something behind him.

 Then all at once it all pieced together. Roy getting close to Riza. Roy then learning Flame Alchemy. And finally, him burning Riza’s back in an effort to get rid of the notes. Her back. Maes slipped his hands under his glasses and began rubbing his eyes to help make sense of what he just figured out.

 “It was her back, wasn’t it, Mustang? He said quietly, still not looking at Roy afraid of what his expression may be. Smugness? Amusement? Maes didn’t want to know. But he did look up, only when he heard a slow clapping coming from Roy’s bed.

 “I take it back, you’re good at your job. However, you missed out the detail where I tried to kill her, twice.” Maes stared at him, did he really just own up to that? He began scribbling on his notepad he produced from his pocket, his hand shaking from the atrocities he was describing in it.

 Hughes couldn’t bear to hear anymore, “Okay, now you have confessed I will get one of my colleagues at the police force to get a statement from you and take you into custody when you are recovered so you can be taken to court.” He began to stand when Roy raised his hand. Maes stopped in his tracks, and sat back down.

 “One Last thing, how did I get from Riza’s room to here? If you would be kind enough to tell me.” Maes thought it over, it was a reasonable request, so he complied. He got himself comfortable and began replaying the morning’s goings-on.

* * *

 

 As Roy pushed the last of the morphine in the syringe into Riza’s body he noticed her eyes had begun to roll into the back of her head. Finally. He put the syringe in Riza’s hand so that it would look like she had attempted to end her life herself, and he placed the bottle on her bedside table.

 Riza’s heart monitor began to beep incessantly, making Roy jump.  Damn it, I forgot about that. He hastily stood up, wincing a little from the gunshot wound in his thigh and the splintered bone to go with it. His leg slightly numb from kneeling on it for a while, Roy made his way toward the door, dragging his IV stand behind himself.

 Roy was so obsessed with leaving the room he hadn’t heard the purposeful footsteps of someone coming to check on Riza. So when the person reached the room, they collided but Roy was the only one who fell. When he reached the floor he hit his head with a crack and blacked out instantly.

 Doctor Knox strode over his body and quickly went around Riza’s bed to her IV line and heart monitor stand. He noticed the brown medicine bottle on the bedside table and picked it up to examine it properly. He brought it up to his eye level and scanned the label briefly, all he took in was the word ‘Morphine’.

 Pushing the bottle into his pocket, he swore under his breath and took the syringe out of Riza’s hand to dispose of safely. He put the IV line back into her catheter to attempt to dilute the painkillers in her bloodstream whilst he thought of a better plan.

 The doctor pressed the emergency bell to call a nurse to help him, and one came a couple of minutes later. She walked in and tried not to scream at the sight of the Colonel on the floor, obviously unconscious. Knox beckoned her to where he was and instructed her to keep an eye on Riza until he got back.

 He’d sort Mustang out later.

 Knox knew that Lieutenant Colonel Hughes was coming later that morning, So why couldn’t he come a bit earlier? He walked briskly to his office where he had been sleeping before Mustang decided to interrupt him with his stupid antics, again.

 Slouching into his desk chair he he dialled the number for Central Command and asked for the Head of Investigations. He was put on hold for a couple of minutes and then Maes Hughes’ voice could be heard over the receiver.

 “Hello Lieutenant Colonel, is there any chance you could get here, say, now?” Doctor Knox cut straight to the case, there was a bit of moaning from the other man, since it was only 6am but he agreed to come hesitantly. The men exchanged good-byes then Knox stretched and called a pair of nurses to come and help him remove a ‘hooligan’ from Riza’s room.

 Roy was heavier than he looked, Knox made a mental note of that as two nurses helped him carry the man back to his room. They hauled him onto his bed and hooked his IV line to wall so that he couldn’t go very far with it.

 The doctor had just sat down in the chair in Roy’s room to give his back a rest when a faint knock came from the door that lead into the room. Lieutenant Colonel Hughes popped his head around the door and Knox beckoned him to come in.

 He greeted the doctor with, “I hope you know I’ve missed my daughter’s first day of school for you.” It was hard to tell who he was aiming this at. Doctor Knox shrugged, well you just missed someone trying to kill one of my patients. He stood up from his chair and shook hands with the Investigator and ushered him to the chair.

 “He should come around soon, I didn’t knock him out that hard.” Maes looked up surprised, the doctor winked and left him to himself, shutting the door not too quietly behind him.

* * *

 

 “Ah, I remember now. I assume Knox told you most of that?” Hughes nodded, after a bit of provoking, yes. He thought. He began to stand again and this time Mustang didn’t try and stop him.

 “Try not to go getting yourself into more trouble because you’re in enough shit as it is.” Roy agreed and snorted, then Hughes ducked out of the room to let the nurses, one to go alone was too risky at this point, in to do their rounds.

 “I am going to get myself a spot of breakfast before going to see the Lieutenant.” Hughes said to no one in particular as he walked down the corridors of the hospital.

**As he walked out of the building that housed the hospital, Maes couldn’t shake the feeling this could be the last time he would see his old friend.**


End file.
